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Principles of Interpersonal Communication
All forms of interpersonal communication tend to follow some basic principles. The principles tend to control the level of effectiveness within which the communication process takes place. The principles are often very simple to understand but tend to take individuals a lifetime to master the concepts. The ease with which an individual masters the principles of interpersonal communication largely depends on the personality of the individual. The principles are always based on the working of interpersonal communication in real life set up. They form the most important basics of the process of communication (Devito & Joseph, p.18). The paper outlines the principles that govern the process of interpersonal communication.
Interpersonal Communication is Inescapable
Interpersonal communication is always inescapable as an individual cannot avoid the process of communication. Any attempt by the individual not to communicate on its own communicates something. The process of interpersonal communication does involve not only the use of words but also the tone of voice, facial expression, posture, or even gesture. An individual, when trying to show his or her lack of interest in the process of communication, will tend to use any of these techniques. By that alone, he or she shall have communicated something. By using this technique, individuals tend to receive messages from those around some even being unintentional. Even when an individual is sleeping, he or she is communicating something (Tighe & Jeniffer, p.3). Generally, the basic principle that governs that process of communication is that people do not always mind readers.
Interpersonal Communication is Irreversible
The process of interpersonal communication is always irreversible. Once something has been said, it is not possible to take it back. The effect of what has been communicated will inevitably remain even if the speaker develops a different opinion after saying it. Despite the instruction that a judge may give a jury not to take regard of the last statement that a witness made, the lawyer is well aware that it is not helpful but makes an impression on the jury. As a Russian proverb says, once a word goes out of the mouth, it is not possible to swallow it back.
Interpersonal Communication is Complicated
The process of interpersonal communication is always complicated. Because of the high number of variables involved in the communication process, even simple requests are always complex. According to most theories, the process of communication always involves at least six people. These are; 1) whom the communicator thinks he is, 2) whom he thinks the other person is, 3) whom you think the other person thinks you are, 4) whom the other person thinks he or she is, 50 whom the other person thinks the speaker is, and lastly, 6) whom the other person the speaker thinks he or she is. The process of communication normally does not involve the swapping of ideas but rather the symbols that stand for the ideas (Devito & Joseph, p.18).
Interpersonal Communication is Contextual
Lastly, interpersonal communication is always contextual as it doesn’t occur in isolation: the psychological context analyses who and individual is and his or her contribution in the process of communication. The personalities, needs, and desires all make up the psychological context of communication. Environmental context often analyses the physical area where an individual is communicating. It entails different factors as location, furniture, season, time of the day, among other variables. The cultural; context in communication includes all the learned behavior and the guidelines that influence the process of communication (Li, p. 7). The relational context, on the other hand, analyses the reaction between the parties involved in the process of communication.
Works Cited
DeVito, Joseph A. “The interpersonal communication book.” Instructor 1 (2019): 18.
Li, Na. “Analysis and strategy research on college students’ interpersonal communication barriers.” 2017 International Conference on Humanities Science, Management, and Education Technology (HSMET 2017). Atlantis Press, 2017.
Tighe, Jennifer. “207-01-02 Interpersonal Communication.” (2016).